KFFHN Weekly Edition: July 12, 2024
From Dr. Oz to Heart Valves: A Tiny Device Charted a Contentious Path Through the FDA
David Hilzenrath and Holly K. Hacker
The story of MitraClip, a device Dr. Oz helped invent to treat faulty heart valves, is a cautionary tale about the science, business, and regulation of medical technology.
Lifesaving Drugs and Police Projects Mark First Use of Opioid Settlement Cash in California
Aneri Pattani and Don Thompson
California is in line for more than $4 billion in opioid settlement funds, and local governments are most often spending the first tranche of money on lifesaving drugs. An exclusive KFF Health News analysis also found projects to help police deter youths’ drug use and counsel officers who witness overdoses.
States Set Minimum Staffing Levels for Nursing Homes. Residents Suffer When Rules Are Ignored or Waived.
Jordan Rau
The Biden administration set stringent new federal staffing rules. But for years, nursing homes have failed to meet the toughest standards set by states.
How to Find a Good, Well-Staffed Nursing Home
Jordan Rau
Here are the telltale signs to look for in nursing homes to avoid, and resources that can point to better places.
Planned Parenthood to Blitz GOP Seats, Betting Abortion Fears Can Sway Voters
Molly Castle Work
The reproductive rights organization hopes to oust GOP incumbents from key California congressional seats by highlighting the possibility of a national abortion ban. A state Republican official calls it a swing and a miss, noting that, under Democrats, hospitals have closed maternity wards and filed for bankruptcy.
Abortion and the 2024 Election: A Video Primer
Julie Rovner and Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Norman
The first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago takes place in November, and abortion is sure to play a key role.
GOP’s Tim Sheehy Revives Discredited Abortion Claims in Pivotal Senate Race
Matt Volz
In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Tim Sheehy made the false claim that his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, supports abortion “up to and including the moment of birth.”
Listen: How the End of ‘Roe’ Is Reshaping the Medical Workforce
Julie Rovner
In this episode of “The Indicator From Planet Money,” KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, reports on how the medical labor force is changing post-Roe v. Wade and why graduating medical students, from OB-GYNs to pediatricians, are avoiding training in states with abortion bans.
GOP Platform Muddies Abortion Waters
As Donald Trump prepares to be formally nominated as the GOP’s candidate for president next week, the platform he will run on is taking shape. And in line with Trump’s approach, it aims to simultaneously satisfy hard-core abortion opponents and reassure more moderate swing voters. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on pharmacy benefits management firms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, about the Biden administration’s policies to ensure access to reproductive health care.
Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say the US Should, Too.
Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen
Even with a stockpile of bird flu vaccinations, the federal government is not offering them to those at high risk. Along with testing and measures to prevent spread, vaccinations may protect people and stop the outbreak from becoming a pandemic.
These Vibrant, Bigger-Than-Life Portraits Turn Gun Death Statistics Into Indelible Stories
Christine Spolar
With pop-up art shows in Philadelphia and beyond, Zarinah Lomax’s mission is to show what is routinely lost to gun violence in America: “This is somebody’s child. Somebody’s son, somebody’s daughter who was working toward something.”
Why the Election May Slow Plans To Replace Lead Pipes
Sandy West
Lead in drinking water is a known danger. But how many of the country’s estimated 9 million lead service lines need to be replaced — and how quickly — is subject to debate. The clock is ticking on two competing plans as the election looms.
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor
Rae Ellen Bichell
Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.
If Lawsuit Ends Federal Mandates on Birth Control Coverage, States Will Have the Say
Sam Whitehead
An ongoing lawsuit aims to set aside the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that insurers cover preventive care, such as contraception. If that happens, state reproductive health laws — varying across the country — would carry more weight, resuming the “wild West” dynamic from before Obamacare.
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